Last month, DHS seniors Kaelin Hampe, John Murphy and junior Brooke Wilichoski attended the MMEA (Massachusetts Music Educators Association) Conference and Festival in Worcester, MA. The DHS singing group Vocal Alliance also tagged along, performing on the first day of the conference.
Throughout the few days that Kaelin Hampe, John (JJ) Murphy and Brooke Wilichoski stayed in Worcester, they spent their time learning advanced music with peers from all over Massachusetts. On Saturday of the conference, Kaelin Hampe and JJ Murphy performed their pieces with the All-State SATB (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) Chorus, which contained a group of the best choral students in Massachusetts. Brooke Willichoski performed with the Inaugural All-State Contemporary Ensemble (a modern pop band), where she sang pop songs with a few other vocalists while a small band played instrumentals behind them.
In addition to their performances, DHS’ Vocal Alliance was also at the ready. Vocal Alliance is a small and selective social justice singing group that mainly performs pieces with messaging about acceptance, love and equality. They kicked off the initial meeting for the event, on Thursday morning, welcoming music educators from all over Massachusetts. The group performed “Lazarus Drug” by Megan Washington (famously played in the kid’s television show Bluey) and “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield. Vocal Alliance currently includes seniors Kaelin Hampe, Dailin Martinez, Bella Drakos, Ella Guitard, Piper Brett, and junior Brooke Wilichoski.
The group also supported their chorus director, Mr. Alex Grover, in presenting his conference presentation, “Harmony Beyond Notes: Social Emotional Learning in Chorus.” During this session, presented to music educators from all over Massachusetts, Grover explained how he incorporates social emotional learning activities into his chorus classes in order to keep students engaged, focused, and ready to learn. Vocal Alliance assisted this presentation by demonstrating these social emotional learning activities that are already integrated into their everyday learning routine.
Every performance at the MMEA Conference and Festival went beautifully for the Danvers students who participated, and The Flying Onion commends their representation of the DHS music program.
